Principal's Message
Kia Ora
If your family celebrates Easter then I hope
you enjoyed this special time together. If not, then I hope you were able to make the most of the long weekend, in the company of people who are important to you.
If spending time with others is important to you, then I hope you’ve put a couple of hours aside this Friday afternoon/evening to attend our School Picnic. It would be awesome to have a big turn out of people as a lot of effort is being put into this event. School picnics and events build a sense of community and the kids always love sharing their school with whānau; it fosters their sense of belonging and pride.
At the picnic, we will re-stage the Fun Run for any keen participants and there will be the added bonus of an obstacle course/bouncy castle ($2) and food options. We really hope to see you there!
Last Thursday’s celebration of the conclusion of Movin’ March was brilliant. It was great to see such enthusiasm for our Fancy Feet and Wheels parade. Some of the creations were quite spectacular, and Mrs Chambers’ ‘mop shoes’ added extra polish to the office floors. Thanks Mrs Chambers!
I hope that the students all enjoyed getting a little more exercise on the way to and from school during March and I hope that for many they continue to feel confident and able to keep up this momentum.
Ngā mihi,
Jess Ward – Tumuaki ~ Principal
PS – Term 2 date for your diary – School will be closed on Friday, 28 May for a staff only day
Welcome to Our Recent New Students
Ivee Rm 26
School Picnic & Fun Run Night
Just to let you know that there are only 2 days now till the fun run!
The children will be participating in the Fun Run during the day on Friday at 11.30am. They will need to have OLD clothes that reflect their house colour if possible, an old towel and a change of clothes please. The children will be getting wet and will have the option to have colour thrown at them as well.
There will be two different races; the first will be without colour and the second with colour. We will be keeping the course up for the picnic after school on Friday running from 4.00-6.00pm.
Just a reminder that we will have different food available to purchase on the night including: Sausage Sizzle, Candy Floss, Ice Cream Spiders, Juicees, Toffee Apples, Hot Waffle Food Truck, Sherbert and Fizzy Drinks.
Ngā mihi nui
PTA
Parent Education Evening - Thanks
Thanks to all the parents who attended our education evening last week. We hope you found this an insightful evening. Your attendance and engagement was really appreciated. It was interesting to note how busy the CyberSafety stall was and the Spotlight Help Desk. If we can provide further help with these aspects please contact Vicki Wilson (Spotlight Help desk) and Sarah Chambers (Cyber Safety) at school.
A huge thank you once again to Vanessa Brewer for her introductory talk on the Spotlight and @Schoolapp tools and to all the staff who manned stations to talk parents through various aspects of the tool – along with the additional expertise and support of senior students – Logan, Boston, Jack and Vienna. Gratitude must also be paid to our PTA, our office staff and BoT for their presence and the Suppa and Cuppa station! Last but not least, thank you to the teachers of our junior team who provided supervision of children in the library.
New Teacher Joining PBS
Next term we will be opening our next New Entrants classroom in Room 24. I am delighted to let you know that we have employed Cherie Parker to teach this class. 
Cherie, who is an experienced teacher, is moving from Auckland to the Kapiti Coast with her husband. Cherie’s referees couldn’t speak of her highly enough and we look forward to welcoming her into our school community.
Using Māori Language at Home
It’s important for all Kiwi to learn te reo. Each week our newsletter will include phrases that you might like to try out at your place. After all it will take the whole nation to keep this unique language alive.
Mauria te pono! Believe in Yourself!
Dress Code
Our full Dress Code can be found under the information tab on our website. However we are noticing more and more of late the need for students to respect their own bodies. Our dress code states:
Dress, appearance and accessories should be comfortable and appropriate for the learning situation and school activities and not a distraction. Our dress code is designed to reinforce pride in appearance, self respect and personal safety, so students can focus on learning.
Were Your Ears Burning?
Staff Gratitude Section
At our Fancy Feet and Wheels parade last week it was noted, by a number of staff, the incredibly high percentage of Ngaru syndicate kids who participated. Thank you to the teachers in this team who had obviously talked up the celebration and encouraged participation!
Kid's Quote
“For breakfast I had a weetbix and a cornflake.”
Celebrating Student Work
Check out the wonderful cushion Asha made at Tech! Each of the letters is hand cut and then carefully stitched on using the sewing machine. Well done Asha, this is very intricate work.
Art Project - Ever Heard of Yarn Bombing?
You may have noticed that the tree next to the school Pou has died. Mr Trask tried to revive it to no avail. Rather than cutting it down completely, we thought we could use it as an ART INSTALLATION project, with the help of a little yarn bombing!
What is ‘yarn bombing’? Yarn bombing (or yarnbombing) is a type of street art that uses colourful displays of knitted or crocheted yarn.
For this project we are asking for donations of colourful wool and knitting needles. We will also need parents or grandparents who can join us during lunchtimes next term to help students who are keen to learn to knit. Send donated wool or knitting needles to the office and email office@pbs.school.nz if you’d like to be part of this project.
Notice of Vacancy for Parent Rep on the Board
A vacancy has occurred on the PBS Board for an elected parent representative as a result of the recent resignation of a trustee.
The Board has decided to fill this vacancy by selection, which means we would love to hear from any parent/whānau member who is interested in joining our team. Further information about the process is available at https://www.trustee-election.co.nz/board-resources/casual-vacancies/
If you have further questions about the process or the role of a Board Trustee, please email Zoe at boardchair@pbs.school.nz, or leave a message with the school office.
Movin' March - Fancy Feet & Wheels Day
Last Thursday, we celebrated the end of Movin’ March with a Fancy Feet and Wheels Day and what a celebration it was! It was fantastic to see so many wheels and feet wonderfully decorated in our annual parade. The Sports Ambassadors selected winners from each syndicate representing the best decorative feet and wheels and handed out lots of spot prizes to all participants. Our tamariki were buzzing with excitement and the atmosphere was filled with music, clapping and laughter while they biked, scootered and walked in their fancy feet and wheels.
Thank you to our Sports Ambassadors and Logan Brewer and Sophie Noyce, our M.C’s, for helping to organise this school event.
Art Competition
This year’s entries were of a very high standard. The effort our tamariki put into these were exceptional making it very tough for the team to select the winners. This year’s winners are:
5 – 6 year olds: Frankie Houston-Manuel
7 – 8 year olds: Eden Kavakura
9 – 10 year olds: Arabellah Brown
All winning entries will now be sent to the Greater Regional Wellington Council to compete against the Wellington region where winners will be awarded vouchers of up to $100. Best of luck.
Movin’March WOW Cards – Amazing Efforts!
It was fantastic to see the flurry of stamping during the month of Movin’ March. A huge thanks to all the students, whānau and teachers who got behind our walk and wheel theme this month. It was fantastic to see so much walking, scootering, biking and skating to school. We’d love to see if this can continue at least until the end of term! All WOW passports will be sent into the Greater Regional Wellington Council go in the draw to WIN a $400 MYRIDE voucher (12 to be won!)
Please give your Movin’March Feedback – and win!
Greater Wellington Regional Council would love to hear what you thought about Movin’March this year. You can complete the whānau survey here, which should take 5 mins. All respondents can go into win a $100 Prezzy card. Students can also take part in the student survey and be in to win a $50 Prezzy card.
Lost Property
Lost property will be out on display (fine days only) by the tennis/netball courts next week and the last week of term.
Anything un-named or unclaimed will be sent to the Koha shed.
Entertainment Book is Back
Support our school by purchasing your Entertainment Book now!
